In which strange things happen to a girl called Mary
Mary had a little Star
She found it on the ground
She took it home to wash and dry
And keep it safe and sound.
Mary asked her astral friend
Where is your twinkling light?
Star said: I lost it when I fell.
Now I’m dim, not bright.
Mary also had a lamb
It wasn’t pleased to see
That she’d acquired another pal
I thought you just loved me.
Let’s go outside and find out where
Star’s twinkle may have fallen
They searched among the cockle shells
And weeds in Mary’s garden.
Suddenly they heard a hiss
And saw a large green snake
Writhing in the flowerbed
Please cure my bellyache!
Star was scared but lamb was brave
I see the problem now
It’s swallowed something very sharp
That’s stuck in there somehow.
When the serpent lay quite still
A spiky bulge was plain.
Mary stroked the reptile’s head
No wonder you’re in pain.
Mary rolled her sleeve up high
Please open very wide
The snake unhinged its jaws to yawn
And Mary gazed inside.
She saw a flicker of a light
Down snakey’s tortuous gut
Star’s twinkle! she exclaimed with joy
Reached in and pulled it out.
The twinkle was a slimy mess
So Mary wiped it clean
She gave it back to Star who said
I won’t think where it’s been.
The snake was slithery and well
Star twinkled very bright
I must be off and rise again
To constellate the night.
Mary had a little lamb
It secretly was glad
To be her only friend again
Despite the fun they’d had.
She found it on the ground
She took it home to wash and dry
And keep it safe and sound.
Mary asked her astral friend
Where is your twinkling light?
Star said: I lost it when I fell.
Now I’m dim, not bright.
Mary also had a lamb
It wasn’t pleased to see
That she’d acquired another pal
I thought you just loved me.
Let’s go outside and find out where
Star’s twinkle may have fallen
They searched among the cockle shells
And weeds in Mary’s garden.
Suddenly they heard a hiss
And saw a large green snake
Writhing in the flowerbed
Please cure my bellyache!
Star was scared but lamb was brave
I see the problem now
It’s swallowed something very sharp
That’s stuck in there somehow.
When the serpent lay quite still
A spiky bulge was plain.
Mary stroked the reptile’s head
No wonder you’re in pain.
Mary rolled her sleeve up high
Please open very wide
The snake unhinged its jaws to yawn
And Mary gazed inside.
She saw a flicker of a light
Down snakey’s tortuous gut
Star’s twinkle! she exclaimed with joy
Reached in and pulled it out.
The twinkle was a slimy mess
So Mary wiped it clean
She gave it back to Star who said
I won’t think where it’s been.
The snake was slithery and well
Star twinkled very bright
I must be off and rise again
To constellate the night.
Mary had a little lamb
It secretly was glad
To be her only friend again
Despite the fun they’d had.
This poem is copyright (©) Emma Storr 2025

About the Writer
Emma Storr
Emma lives in Yorkshire. Her poems have appeared in several anthologies and magazines and won prizes in local and national poetry competitions. Her debut pamphlet Heart Murmur was published by Calder Valley Poetry in 2019. In 2022, Fair Acre Press published Offcumdens, featuring 41 of Emma’s poems paired with Bob Hamilton’s photographs of Yorkshire ‘s people, streets and landscapes. Her most recent collection is The Year of Two Winters (Indigo Dreams Publishing 2023).